Even Soldiers Need To Cry
by foxygirlchan
Summary: INCOMPLETE. Old and Abandoned. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU CRAVE 13 YEAR OLD WRITING. Story about Adray apparently. And Nel. God this is old.
1. Department and arrival

She loomed over her grey-haired friend and tried to smile. It seemed smiling had become harder for her to do after the incident ten years ago. She sighed and kneeled down next to the sobbing woman before her, putting a comforting arm around her. She positioned herself comfortably on the bed of her companion, making sure that she didn't feel uncomfortable in her embrace.

In between whimpers and sniffles, the brown eyes of the crying girl traveled their way up to the face of the woman next to her. Not helping one bit, she threw herself onto her friend and continued to cry, her tears wetting the woman's muffler that was placed around her neck for warmth.

"It's alright Clair, he… Died a brave man," replied the red-headed woman as she pushed herself upward. Her friend had pushed her down onto the bed as she hugged her.

"I know Nel, I know," was the reply of the grey-haired girl.

After the woman, referred to as Clair, had fallen asleep after her exhausting afternoon of bawling her eyes out to her friend, the other woman, named Nel, brought the covers up to the woman's neck.

The sun had set and the lights were off, seeing they weren't needed in the day. The woman quietly walked out of the room, as she closed the wooden door slowly. She didn't want to wake her tired friend.

"How is she?" asked another woman walking down the hallway, her voice calm, and her eyes cold, but filled with sadness. Another girl came up from behind her, red eyes to the brink of tears.

"It would be an understatement to say horrible," replied Nel, brushing her red hair behind her ear. She sighed in frustration.

"That bad huh?" asked the woman who had spoken before, the woman next to her, coming out behind her to embrace Nel. She began to whimper, but no tears to wet her already moist clothes.

"It's okay Farleen, you don't have to cry," began Nel, as she rested her hand on the woman's purple hair.

"But he was as good as family to all of us of the Secret Legion! Why did he have to die Nel! Why!" cried Farleen, her companion keeping a straight face, but showing sadness behind her quiet exterior. Nel decided to play copy cat to her subordinate and attempted to keep a straight face after staring at the other woman for a few seconds.

"He was old. Everyone dies Farleen," replied Nel, attempting to soothe her friend, but failing.

"Farleen…" replied the other woman, walking up to both of the women in front of her, putting a hand behind Farleen, her eyes strained, attempting to keep from tearing.

After a few minutes, the woman realized what she had been doing.

"I'm sorry Nel, Tynave, I just had to let it out, you know?" Farleen cried, as she pulled away from her friends arms, noticing that she had placed an uncomfortable aura around them. She attempted to stifle her cries, but Nel smiled painfully, showing that she too was trying hard no to cry.

"Come on Farleen, maybe you should sleep."

"Hey! How's it been going? Haven't seen you since-"

"-Since that incident 10 years ago, huh? It's been that long already?"

"Time flies, yet seems so long, huh Mirage?" replied a blonde man. A smile spread across his face. He looked like he was as hard as a rock, towering over the woman before him. She too, had blonde hair, and her eyes looked up towards him with mixed emotions, but her face as clear as a white board.

"That, Cliff, is an oxymoron," replied another woman as she walked towards them, her green eyes traveling back and forth from figure to figure.

"Hey! Maria! When did you get here?" asked Cliff. His arms stretched wide as if waiting to be embraced the younger woman.

"I got here about five minutes ago. It shouldn't be long before Fayt and Sophia arrive as well," replied the woman as she brushed passed the wide arms of the behemoth standing before her and facing the other woman.

"It's been a long time 'mother'," replied the blue haired woman, blinking once and not blinking again until the other woman replied.

"Please, don't call me mother, it seems… rude," replied the other woman, tugging at a strand of blue hair on the side of the other woman's face.

Before Cliff could say anything, Maria hugged Mirage in a warm embrace. She, of course, was caught off guard.

"I missed you so much Mirage!" cried the woman, her arms tightening around the other woman after every word spoken.

"Please, by all means, I missed you too, but don't kill me," replied the older woman, pushing Maria away from her gently and smiling kindly.

"Sorry, it's just… After ten years you start to miss people," replied the woman sheepishly. Mirage just smiled warmly at the younger girl's reaction.

"You are still such a child…"

"Um, hello? I'm still here," replied the man, grinning brightly. The women were taken out of their moment as they stared at Cliff with a little anger, but smiling, none the less. "And were is my hug?"

"You don't get any. I don't remember ONE good time with you," Maria replied harshly, turning her back on the man as he looked at her in disbelief.

"Hey! Don't give me that! Remember when-" The man began when Mirage out stretched her arm out and clutched his hand.

He looked down at her confused as she just smiled back at him. He was speechless, and Maria was looking at both of them very confused.

"You interrupted our greeting Maria," Mirage replied, breaking the silence with her answer to the question that floated through both people's minds.

"Um, I did?"

"Yep, and I didn't get to greet Cliff at all."

"Now that you mention it, you didn't! That's not nice at all!"

"Hey, I'm with you now aren't I? Haven't you wanted that for a few years? To be with your friends once again?" asked Mirage, looking up at the man's face with a small smile.

He looked down at her. He felt his face start to warm up. She looked too innocent, nothing of what he remembered her by. He remembered her as the woman who beat him in every sparring match they had. He then took the other woman's hand quickly and smiled.

"There, now we're all in this together!"

"Not what I had in mind, but okay," giggled the older woman, holding the younger woman's hand in her own.

"Okay?" replied Maria very confused.

"Hey, I think I see Fayt! Hey Fayt!" yelled Cliff, releasing both women's hands and waving towards a blue headed man in the crowd at the space port.

The man turned towards him and smiled, waving back as a woman along side him peeked around him to see her old friends.

Her features brightened as she waved frantically and happily towards them.

Both walked over towards the group and greeted them all enthusiastically, earning hugs and choke holds.

"I haven't seen you three in ages!" replied the brown-haired woman as she clutched her bag to her side securely, smiling very brightly and happily.

"Yes, it has been a terribly long time," replied Mirage, smiling at the woman next to her.

"How has work been going? Is being a chef AND a symbology professor a really easy job?" Maria asked, interested in how the woman made a living.

"Oh, it's a living nightmare! I have to wake up in the morning and teach students then cook! I don't mind cooking, but teaching is a real drag, but hey, it's a living," replied Sophia, smiling at her companions grateful to her small vacation.

"And how about you Fayt? How had you been holding up?" asked Cliff, nudging the man in the side.

"Well, I've been doing pretty good as a scientist, but I much prefer to just sit back and play some good old video games," replied Fayt, earning a punch from Sophia. He just smiled sheepishly towards her. He knew how much she hated him playing games instead of working. He did that a lot.

"Well, now on to why we're all here. It has come to our attention-"

"Please, Maria, you're not addressing a crew, you're addressing your friends, be more… Casual," Cliff interrupted, not at all impressed by her way of speech.

Maria sighed and glared at her friend, but kept on speaking anyway.

"Well, we received a transmission from Nel through the Inventor's guild that Adray Lasabard has… Passed away," replied Maria, the faces of everyone in the group dropping.

"He was… A good teacher," replied Sophia, having learned her symbology attacks and training from him.

"He was a great team member," Fayt replied, remembering how Adray kicked monster meat in the battle field.

"Well, let's leave the remising for when we get to Elicoor II, they might be more happier to hear it," Cliff interrupted, receiving a kick to the shins by his long-time pal, Mirage.

"Cliff, don't be so insensitive," growled Maria as Cliff rubbed his knee, his face showing signs of pain, Mirage seemed a bit more happier for the remainder of the trip.

"Hey, don't be calling me insensitive! I care about the old man as much as the next guy, but I mean, don't we have a flight to catch? It's about to leave," replied Cliff, and as soon as he said that, as if on queue, the computer announced that their ship would be leaving in five minutes.

"Oh crud! We'll never make it in time!" Fayt jumped, as he looked around to where the announcer had said their ship's port was.

"It's this way!" Maria yelled, motioning towards the B wing and running as fast as she could, as did the rest of the party.

"Oh no! We'll never make it!" gasped Sophia, looking at her wrist watch and noticing that they only had a minute before their trip to Elicoor would leave them.

"Never say never!" cried Cliff, running faster than everyone, but still slow for his and Mirage's standards, seeing the rest of the group wasn't as fast as they.

"That, Cliff, is another oxymoron, and our ship just left," gasped Maria out of breath. She stopped and looked out of a window. The ship they were going to take, disembarking as they saw it enter gravitical warp.

They all looked flabbergasted. Their mouths open wide to the scene in front of them. Their ship had just left, and it wouldn't be back for a day or two.

"W… What the? That did not just happen. Tell me that didn't just happen," gasped Sophia, her hands up to her mouth.

"It didn't happen?" replied a woman as she walked up to the group. Cliff looked at her, eyes wide, then a grin spreading on his features.

"Hello little lady! Who might you be?" replied Cliff, acting as smooth as possible, earning another kick to the shins by Mirage.

The woman giggled, sending a chill down the women's spines as if something Cliff was doing was terribly wrong. That was a familiar giggle….

"Why, it's me! Souffle Rossetti! The leader of the Rossetti troupe!" declared the woman, banging her fist into her veluptous chest that had men walking by stare.

"Peppita! How has it been going!" squealed Sophia in delight. The childish girl that she had met at the hotel resort ten years ago appearing before her in an older and much mature state would make any girl like Sophia squeal. She would have fun talking to her.

"Sophia! Maria! Mirage! How I missed you guys!" replied Souffle, brushing away a few tears that had appeared. It seemed that the impact of the meeting had caused her emotional trauma.

"Um, hello? Men still alive here," replied Cliff, staring at Peppita in disbelief. Who would have known that she would grow up into this beautiful woman? Fayt had to think about video games to stop from staring lower than Peppita's face.

Peppita hugged each woman individually before turning over towards her two other companions. She suddenly locked eyes with Fayt and put her hands up to her face and blushed, moving back and forth as if a tune was playing in her head. This made Fayt and Cliff stare at her more, Cliff receiving another kick to the shins, and Fayt, well, he received a fire ball to the face.

Souffle snapped out of her day dream, remembering the things that had happened between her and Fayt, and blushed, looking at the burning man and the fallen behemoth.

"Sorry guys, just remembering the old days were Fayt and I used to hang around each other," smiled Peppita, earning looks from people passing by, mostly from men, but also jealous looks from women.

"Wow Peppita! You sure grew up into a beautiful woman!" Sophia said, looking Souffle up and down as if she was a model critique.

"Thank you!" smiled Peppita, remembering the days were her and Sophia didn't get along. She thought about that and smiled. She didn't know that they would ever get along.

"So, what do you do for a living Peppita?" asked Maria, looking as curious as ever.

"I still manage the Rossetti troupe! Our spirits haven't gone down! Thanks for being there at our first performance Sophia! It meant a lot for the troupe!" Souffle replied, smiling at Sophia, earning a smile back.

"Is your troupe successful?" asked Mirage, deciding it would be better to get in the conversation instead of taking care of the men who were staring at Souffle; they weren't doing anything wrong… Yet.

"Of course! We've gotten lots of gigs! I can't believe how many people adore me! See Fayt! I told you my autograph would be worth something!" replied Souffle, tossing her bangle up in the air, hitting Fayt straight in the face.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Fayt!" jumped Sophia, looking at Fayt with concern, his nose bleeding his lip bitten.

"Yeah, I'm okay… Maybe that's punishment," Fayt replied, he was swaying from side to side.

"I think you hit your head there pretty hard…"

"Anyway! Back onto our little problem! How are we going to get onto Elicoor II to mourn Adray's death now! Our ship left!" cried Maria, tugging at her hair in frustration.

"Oh! Is that your problem? No worries then! The Rossetti troupe has earned enough funds to buy a ship! We would gladly take you all there, seeing that is where we were heading," replied Souffle, smiling at her friends around her.

"Really! Thank you Peppita!" Sophia jumped with joy as she took Souffle by the arms and gave her a strong hug.

"Eek! I don't think I'd be able to take you if I died!"

"Sorry!"

"Boobies…"

"Shut it Cliff."

"Ow!"


	2. Of discontent and delight

His long shaggy bangs clinged to his skin as sweat trickled down his face. He used his katana as support and climbed his way up the rocky slope of the mountain. He was about to make it to the top, were a dragon was towering over everything like a gargoyle before a sudden beep, a sound he had come to hate, had startled him and his sweaty grip loosened on the rocks as the beast above him heard the retched noise waking it from its sleep.

He growled in anger as he let go of his grip on the mountain, falling down and down before his stuck his prosthetic limb into the earth beside him to stop his descent.

The dragon looked down, but its eyesight was not used to the bright light, so it did not see the swordsman below. It took one last look around and flew off, probably to gather some food and find the source of the noise that woke it from its sleep.

The swordsman looked below himself to see how far he had fallen. He was so close to fighting another of the retched beasts but was interrupted by the horrible sound of the thing he carried around in his pockets. He had always hated it, since the day he had gotten it. It always proved to be a pain in battle or while sneaking around during missions.

He positioned himself in a sitting motion and pulled his claws out of the earth, letting him slide towards the bottom of the mountain he had tried to climb up all morning.

After he had landed on the ground safely, his normal hand stuck itself into his pockets that most people did not know he had. They were hidden on the side of his sarong to look like part of the fabric so that they would not be a bother in battle. He pulled out a cell phone type of machine and flipped it open. He never found anything useful in the little monitor, but he saw someone as unlikely as the devil looking back at him.

The emerald eyes and flaming hair were enough to startle the warrior but he was even more surprised that she didn't mistake his communicator as someone else's. She never contacted him. After ten years she never contacted him, yet on this day, in that hour she was on the other line of his communicator acting as if she had seen him the day before.

"Albel Nox," the woman said firmly, her eyes sharp and weary.

"Nel Zelpher," replied the swordsman. He glared down at the small piece of technology in his palm, and the woman looking up at him, he snorted.

There was a small silence, but the impatient warrior did not want to wait. She had interrupted his training. She owed him.

"Woman, I don't have all day, say what you want and be on your way!" growled the man as he shook his mane of hair. His anger shown on his face, his features twisted in rage.

"Adray is dead Nox. Just wondering if you wanted to know so I could invite you to the funeral," hissed the woman on the other end. It seemed he had angered her in his … anger.

"Oh. Is that all? Well then, be on your way," growled Albel. He didn't want to admit it but he did feel a bit of sorrow for the old man, after all, he was his team mate and his life did rest in the warrior's hands a few times in battle. He did not show any emotion except rage though. He didn't want to be known as "Albel the softy".

"Fine, I don't care anymore, I thought maybe after all these years you might have changed. I guess I was wrong. Figures, I've been wrong since what happened long ago. Well, if you want to come, it's being held in Aquios. The queen is hosting it, but whatever, if you don't want to come, don't."

"Who said I didn-"

Connection ended.

* * *

Roger S. Huxley had walked in his father's footsteps.

He had become the village chief and ruled with an iron fist.

Well, not really. The little town was as peaceful as the day Fayt and company had passed ten years ago.

The faeries and pixies flew through the air; the fish swam through the water, and the menodix dug in the ground or climbed up trees. It was peaceful.

Roger sat on his porch, his father telling stories to the next generation of menodix and other creatures that dwelled in the village. He was snoozing peacefully. Roger had grown slightly taller than his father, but not by very much. Maybe it was influence from the incident 10 years ago.

His hat was perched on his head, his ears twitching peacefully, the wind blowing nicely and the sun warming the earth. The day couldn't be better.

Suddenly, there was a loud obnoxious noise coming from inside Roger's house. His mom squealed and ran out of the house, holding her broom up in a defensive position. The children scrambled and hid behind the adults. Roger remembering the noise walked towards his home slowly. He rummaged through all his junk he had collected when he was a child and uncovered his communicator.

He walked out of his house and onto the porch, his parents realizing that the noise was not a threat, went back to their daily doings.

Roger flipped the electronic device open and was surprised to find Nel on the screen.

He grinned happily and greeted the Aquarian.

"Hello Nel! It's nice to see you! I haven't seen in you in ages!"

"Likewise Roger, I can't believe how much you've grown!" Nel smiled happily, looking at the menodix on the other side of her monitor. He was enough to bring a small smile to her face. His cheery out look on life was one that Nel admired. On the other hand…

"Yeah, I have grown a lot! Want to check it out?" replied the raccoon slyly. The woman sighed in disgust.

It seemed that Cliff had gotten into the already impure mind of the child ten years ago and now he was a lecherous pig, as was the behemoth.

"Can you not act like Cliff?"

"Yeesh, anyways, what's the occasion? Adray die or something, you haven't contacted me in 10 years!" asked Roger, receiving a surprised look from the woman on the other line.

"Wow. I never knew you could do that Roger. You're right, Adray did die…"

"Wait, what? I was right! Woah… Wait, WHAT!" yelled Roger into the communicator, his parents and the children giving him odd looks. He brushed them off and locked eyes with the Nel.

"Yes, he died, in the line of duty."

"Wow… I always thought he was as strong as a mountain! That he wouldn't wear down even if a storm hit him…"

"Nice metaphor. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that we're going to hold a funeral for him. If you want to come, it will be held in Aquios in the castle. Hope you can come, everyone else will be there…"

"Alright! I'm on my way! I wouldn't miss a chance like this even if my life depended on it! Tell Adray's daughter that I'm terribly sorry! I'll tell her myself when I get there! Hope she cheers up, I know it'll be hard. I'll miss the old man," replied Roger, very confident to make it across land and water to get to his destination and sadness in his voice.

"I'll be sure to tell her."

Connection ended.

"Hey Mom, dad! I'm going to be away for a while! Be sure to take care of the place while I'm gone!"

"On another of your exploration trips again?" asked his mother as she swept the porch clean.

"No, going to a funeral! One of my comrades has just past away," Roger replied, loading a bunch of gear into a small traveler's bag and ready to be gone in five minutes.

"Oh, that's mighty sad. I hope his family isn't that down! Give this to them…" replied the mother, handing Roger a small present.

"Oh! What's in it!" asked Roger curiously. He took the present and held it in his arms.

"Well, you'll have to wait for her to open it, won't you?"

"Aw mum! Well, I guess I better get going! See you in a few days!" yelled Roger, already walking off of his porch and marching over the earth.

"Or weeks! I don't want to see your face here until you bring something useful!" growled one of Roger's long time rivals. (Whatsisface. I don't remember his name.)

"Shaddap! I'll bring something that will make your house seem small!" spat Roger, running over the bridge and heading past the shops.

"I'll just have to wait and see!"


	3. The music goes on

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Star Ocean. Foo.

**A/N:** Thank you, my two readers! Or any other reader who doesn't review (Which you should)! I am glad I have people enjoying this story. It makes me glad to write it. Currently my school is being evil and I can't update as much as I'd like. So sorry if there is a 2 week gap in my chapters. Oh, and sorry for not making any author's notes in my last chapters. I thought it would ruin the flow of the story. I guess I'm ruining it now. Sorry. Well, hope you enjoy the next installment! Oh yeah, I also didn't put titles on the last ones. I'm going to start now. Sorry for the awkwardness.

**The music goes on…**

Nel swiftly walked passed the corner, avoiding many of the bewildered servants of the court and runologists that happened to pass her by. She did not have time for this. She was walking as fast as she could, yet she still did not get to her destination as fast as she would like.

In her agile pace she stumbled over a crack, loosing her balance. She gasped, expecting a face plant to the pale cold floor. She knew she shouldn't have walked that quickly.

But to her surprise, she was caught by firm female arms. She noticed it was one the runologists passing by by the markings on her legs and the clothing she wore.

She raised her head to find herself staring up to the sharp cold eyes and dirty blonde hair of her subordinate, Tynave.

A smile appeared on the young woman's face as she helped Nel up to her feet. Nel had the look of embarrassment on her face, but wiped it off as quickly as it had come. Tynave just kept on smiling kindly.

"Sorry."

"It's no problem Lady Nel."

Nel shifted to her right foot then to her left uncomfortably as she crossed her arms and looked at Tynave impatient. Tynave just looked on and then looked attentive suddenly.

"Oh, Lady Nel, I have a question."

There was a slight pause.

"Go on."

"Where were you going in such a rush? It seems you're impatient to get somewhere. You don't need to answer, I just had to ask."

"Well, I was just going to ask the queen about some important matters."

"Or to get away from Clair?"

"Why would I want to do that?" asked Nel almost immediately, shocked.

Tynave gave Nel a calm look, saluted her, and started to walk towards another destination.

Nel was surprised at the assumption Tynave made. She didn't expect that. Clair was her best friend, why would she want to leave her to cry alone? Nel brushed her red hair behind her ear and stared forward with her emerald eyes. She sighed.

"Why would I want to do that?"

* * *

Fayt was looking out of the window of the space ship that the Rossetti Troupe owned. 

He was glad that they had gotten a ride to Elicoor II from Souffle. If they hadn't, they would have let Nel down. Not just Nel, no, the whole group of people in Aquaria who knew Adray; Clair, Tynave, Farleen, the Queen, Roger, hell even Albel.

Fayt stared into the dark abyss that was twinkling with light; quote "the star ocean". He had always found it fascinating, those little lights, that if you get too close, they'd turn into something bigger than himself times one-thousand and more. The sparkling spots on the blackboard might have worlds with people entirely different from him, and there were thousands of little stars…

"Hey Fayt! What are you doing? Join us in a game of cards!" exclaimed Sophia, snapping Fayt back into the real world. Well, their real world.

"Sorry! I was… Daydreaming."

"You shouldn't daydream that much! It's unhealthy!" pouted Sophia, her hair falling over her shoulder and in front of her face as she bent her head down. She really did worry about Fayt. He really did day dream a lot.

"Yeah, we don't want you loosing yourself in your head! You loose yourself here enough as it is!" proclaimed Cliff, moving the cards around his hands, eager for the next move.

"Fayt! Don't you like us?" asked Souffle, small tears forming in her eyes. Sophia cringed. This is the side of Peppita….

"N-no! Of course I like you!" Fayt uttered. He didn't want to make their host uncomfortable, especially if that host was Souffle.

Sophia crossed her arms sulking. She really didn't want to see Peppita as a rival…

"Sophia, Cliff, pay attention," announced Mirage, fingering her cards. She really wanted the game to finish and to get her money. Seeing she had already won the game….

"Hah! Look at this!" glowered Cliff, tossing his cards down. They held three kings and two aces; a full house. Cliff looked confident in his hand, although the smirk that Mirage was giving him wasn't motivating.

"Sorry Cliff, but I think you've just lost," smiled Mirage, tossing down her own cards. They held the Ace of spades, the King of spades, the Queen of spades, the Jack of spades and the ten of spades; Royal Flush.

"Augh!" roared Cliff, hitting his head on the table, causing their refreshments to bounce about a centimeter off of the surface of the table.

"Careful Cliff, you'll drop our drinks," Maria stated, lucky enough to have been drinking her refreshment before he had thrown his tantrum.

After a few seconds of staring, someone spoke up.

"Uh, Cliff? You okay?" asked Peppita, attempting to wake Cliff from his sleep (?).

"It's okay; you already lost before, right?" Fayt asked, attempting to soothe Cliff and failing badly.

"It's not that…. It's that…. I don't have any more money…"

"You're screwed then."

A few headlocks and kicking proceeded after this sentence was muttered.

"Well Cliff, you're in debt. I thought you hated to be in debt," asked Maria, drinking her lemonade gratefully, glad that it hadn't fallen onto her skirt, as it had with Sophia. The poor girl had to go change out of her stained pink skirt into a more presentable one.

"Yeah…. I do…. Is there anyway I can repay the debt NOW?" asked Cliff, drinking some water out of his water bottle.

"Hm…. Maybe we can turn this game into strip poker or something," suggested Souffle, the whole ship immediately, surprised at this statement, stopped what they were doing.

Mirage's mouth curved up a little.

"Yes, I do think that we can turn this into a game of that poker…"

"Mirage is scary when she gets like this…."

"Alright, off with a part of your clothes Cliff, and let's keep playing, imagine if you win…" Mirage said suggestively. She really just wanted to play a game of cards, but Cliff was having fantasies right now.

"Uh, Cliff?"

* * *

"Bah, worm," growled Albel, pants of breath leaving his chapped lips. 

The decapitated Monstrous Beast before him, spilling blood everywhere, had proven to be a difficult opponent to the tired swordsman.

He had been walking non stop through the mountains without facing a soul, but when he stepped into the forest bordering the mountains, he had been raided by monster after monster.

First it was the easy porcupines that had found him in their territory, but then hornets and spiders started to attack. He defeated those easily, but the deeper he got into the forests, the more powerful the enemies got. He had just defeated a Killer Wasp, Killer Tarantula and Killer Moth, when the Monstrous Beast happened to stumble into Albel, smelling the blood from the defeated monsters he had slayed earlier.

Albel was, he didn't want to admit it, exhausted. He had been used to fighting in fight after fight without stopping, but he usually had someone healing him, not him going solo. He was used to Fayt or Nel coming in to heal him after every injury, even if he didn't need it, but that was a long time ago.

Albel mentally slapped himself and growled. He didn't want to think of the past. Not now, when he needed the past and it wasn't there. Something he had felt before…

Snarling, Albel used the crimson scourge as a support and helped himself to his feet. He couldn't stop moving, if he did something bigger and deadlier might find its way to the corpses.

Albel dragged the crimson scourge on the ground, crushing many branches and dead leaves below his metal boots, and the katana bouncing off of rocks, not giving a damn if anything found him, seeing he was making a lot of noise.

Bring it on, he was riled up now.

* * *

Roger had stopped to rest at a boulder in the forest. He took out his lunch, starving. He had traveled non-stop through the forest to make up for lost time, even though he didn't loose any time at all, ironically. He was looking up to taking a bite down onto his sandwich when he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. He stopped moving and looked around cautiously. His instinct and knowledge had told him to stay alert. You never know what will pop out of the bushes. It might be a pixie, it might be a hag. 

Suddenly, a scaly head peeked itself out of the bush, smelling the food that Roger had been carrying around. Its yellow eye turned to face Roger. It seemed like it had been following Roger.

It looked like the Lizard Warrior had gotten itself lost in the forest and it was dying of hunger, seeing that he wasn't a very stealthy hunter, or had a sense of direction especially in that puzzle-like forest. It seemed to think that attacking the small warrior was an easy task, seeing that he was larger.

It jumped up onto the rock and twitched its head from side to side, as if to make sure both eyes had seen its target. It brought its scimitar up above its waist and was ready to charge, bringing its shield up protectively.

Roger jumped up to his feet. He was ready to fight, he was always ready!

Roger S. Huxley was not about to back down!


End file.
